The Church of God is convoked in Synod. With this convocation, Pope Francis invites the whole Church to question itself on synodality: a decisive theme for the life and mission of the Church.
"By walking together, and together reflecting on the journey made,
the Church will be able to learn from what it will experience
which processes can help it to live communion,
to achieve participation,
to open itself to mission."
Updated June 21, 2023
Ottawa, ON - On 20 June 2023, the General Secretariat of the Synod released the Instrumentum Laboris (working document) for the First Session (October 2023) of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops with the theme For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission.
Although it is not a summary document, the Instrumentum Laboris is derived from the material gathered during the phase of listening to the People of God – which began in October 2021 –, and in particular, the Final Documents of the Continental Assemblies. It is presented as a tool for discernment rather than as a position statement or a solution to particular questions.
The Bishops of Canada urge all Catholics to pray for the success of the Synod, which will commence this October, that by listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, the followers of Christ would be led to glorify the Father of us all.
Read more from Vatican News here.
Read Instrumentum Laboris here.
OTTAWA, ON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) have issued the North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.
Begun in late 2022, the Continental Stage of the Synod was the second stage of the three-year process initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021. For the North American Continental Stage, the United States and Canada held twelve virtual assemblies: seven in English, three in Spanish, and two in French between December 2022 and January 2023. In total, 931 delegates and 146 bishops from Canada and the United States were appointed to participate in one of these twelve assemblies to share their reflections and responses to the Document for the Continental Stage (DCS) issued by the Holy See’s General Secretariat of the Synod in October 2022. Those reflections were brought together by the North American Writing Team to create the Final Document.
Click here to read the full statement from the CCCB.
Click here to read the full final document in English.
Click here to read the full final document in French.
October 27, 2022 - At 12:15 p.m. today, the Press Conference for the presentation of the Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod: "For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission", took place - live streaming from the Holy See Press Office.
The Document for the Continental Stage is the fruit of the Syntheses resulting from the consultation of the People of God in the first phase of the synodal process and will be the focus of the time of listening, dialogue and discernment of the Continental Synodal Assemblies (January-March 2023).
Speakers included:
His Eminence Card. Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod - IT
His Eminence Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.I., Archbishop of Luxembourg; General Rapporteur of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (remotely connected) - EN
Prof. Anna Rowlands, Associate Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice, University of Durham - EN
Father Giacomo Costa, S.I., Consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod - IT
Rev. Mgr. Piero Coda, Secretary General of the International Theological Commission - IT
Click here to read the document.
September 9, 2022 - The first phase of the “Synod on Synodality,” listening at the diocesan level, has concluded. Synthesis Reports were prepared by each of Canada’s four Regional Episcopal Assemblies - Western, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic regions. These four regional reports were then received by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and used to draft a national synthesis, which was submitted to the General Secretariat of the Synod of the Holy See on 15 August 2022.
The national synthesis document is divided into 11 sections, collectively reflecting on the major themes of this process and the voices heard.
Click here to read the full media release
Click here to read the Synod on Synodality - National Synthesis for Canada.
Click here to read the US National Synthesis 2021-2023
Click here to read the Synod on Synodality - Synthesis for the Archdiocese of Winnipeg
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click here to go to the official Vatican website on the Synod 2021-2023.
